Bj. Eickholt et al., Evidence for collapsin-1 functioning in the control of neural crest migration in both trunk and hindbrain regions, DEVELOPMENT, 126(10), 1999, pp. 2181-2189
Collapsin-1 belongs to the Semaphorin family of molecules, several members
of which have been implicated in the coordination of axon growth and guidan
ce, Collapsin-1 can function as a selective chemorepellent for sensory neur
ons, however, its early expression within the somites and the cranial neura
l tube (Shepherd, I., Luo, Y,, Raper, J, A. and Chang, S, (1996) Dev, Biol,
173, 185-199) suggest that it might contribute to the control of additiona
l developmental processes in the chick. We now report a detailed study on t
he expression of collapsin-1 as well as on the distribution of collapsin-1-
binding sites in regions where neural crest cell migration occurs. collapsi
n-1 expression is detected in regions bordering neural crest migration path
ways in both the trunk and hindbrain regions and a receptor for collapsin-1
, neuropilin-1, is expressed by migrating crest cells derived from both reg
ions. When added to crest cells in vitro, a collapsin-1-Fc chimeric protein
induces morphological changes similar to those seen in neuronal growth con
es. In order to test the function of collapsin-1 on the migration of neural
crest cells, an in vitro assay was used in which collapsin-1-Fc was immobi
lised in alternating stripes consisting of collapsin-Fc/fibronectin versus
fibronectin alone. Explanted neural crest cells derived from both trunk and
hindbrain regions avoided the collapsin-Fc-containing substratum. These re
sults suggest that collapsin-1 signalling can contribute to the patterning
of neural crest cell migration in the developing chick.